CHICAGO.  Following a landslide victory yesterday, Rahm Emanuel took his first step as mayor-elect of Chicago this morning by sending a dead fish to neighboring Skokie, Illinois, saying "This is a warning--don't mess with me, or you'll be wearing concrete sneakers at the bottom of the Chicago River."

Emanuel:  "And a word to the wise--watch your back, Gary, Indiana."

Emanuel coasted to victory with 85% of the vote to runner-up Gery Chico's 24%.  When a reporter noted that the totals of the two top vote-getters alone exceeded 100%, Emanuel shrugged and said "What's your point?"

Actual unretouched photo of Emanuel in ballet class.

A ballet student in his youth, Emanuel was nonetheless tapped by Presidents Clinton and Obama as an enforcer on the campaign trail and in the White House.  He once sent a dead fish to a pollster who displeased him, saying "I'm all about civility in politics.  He can take that fish and bake it, broil it or sautee it in white wine, it's entirely up to him."

"Civility is important.  If you can fake that, you've got it made."

Emanuel is known for his hard-nosed approach to politics, and the people of this city responded to his tough-talking, no-nonsense campaign by showering him with hyphens as he emerged from Plumbers Hall on the Near West Side.

“You sure know how to make a guy feel at home,” Emanuel said, laughing about the residency challenge that almost kept him off the ballot.  "I'll move back at the end of the month when my tenant's lease is up."